MD9

Wild on the Road: Saskatoon vs Ottawa Preview
 

The Wild will be relying on strong play from Chet Manley to carry them through their road trip.
 
After coming off a big win at home against the Oslo Storm, the Saskatoon Wild now enter a brief two-game road trip as the VHLM enters its home stretch. First, the Wild will face off against the Ottawa Lynx, before going all the way to Oslo to face the storm. Having defeated both of these teams in their last engagements, this will prove a stiff challenge for the wild as they will be facing teams eager to claim revenge. This article will examine the first of these match-ups, against the rival Lynx.
 
Saskatoon Wild at Ottawa Lynx
 
For the most part, the Lynx have had the Wild's number this season, winning eleven of their fifteen games. Despite boasting one of the more offensive teams in the league, though certainly still paling compared to the dominant Aces, the Wild have not been able to score with their usual flair when matching up against the Lynx. Credit for this has to go largely to the Lynx' ability to play a two way game, built off of strong defensive play from Jon Snow, Nicodemus Raven, and JourneyMan. Ottawa's goaltending, despite struggling at times this season, has usually given their team a strong chance to win.
 
Last game, the Wild were powered over the Lynx by a stand-out performance by netminder Chet Manley who made 44 saves on 47 shots, as well as by a hat-trick by Bo Boeser. Even so, the margin was narrow and with the Lynx outshooting the Wild by ten shots in total, it appears clear that the game could easily have gone to the Lynx. With that in mind, here are some match-ups to look for tonight:
 
Chet Manley vs. Eddie King
 
Although it isn't certain that King will start, given the events of last game, it would not be surprising to see the same goaltending battle repeated. King played respectfully, but Manley absolutely stood on his head. For that reason, expect a big game by King as he looks to knock his rival down a peg or two - while Manley looks to prove that he can handle the pressure of back-to-back big games. A goaltending battle like this should be all the more interesting given the narrow timespan between this and their last match-ups.
 
Bo Boeser vs. Luigi De Rossi
 
It was Boeser's hat-trick that kickstarted the Wild's historically lackluster offense in opposition to the Lynx. As the Wild's top scorer, Boeser has an incredible 51 goals and 45 assists in just 61 games. Although his pace slowed somewhat with the additions of Jake Scheel and Daring Do, allowing the Wild's offense to diversify, he has remained their most consistent and deadly threat in the opposition zone. De Rossi, in turn, has been the Lynx' most threatening player - not far behind Boeser in production, with 48 goals and 43 assists in 58 games. A prolific shooter, De Rossi has played a very similar role to Boeser as the team's main, star scorer, lifting them to victories in games where the rest of the offense was just lagging behind.
 
Jon Snow vs Trazan Apansson
 
The final match-up we're going to look at is between the team's two number one defencemen. Trazan Apansson plays a hard-hitting, but two-way style that has led him to tally 52 points on 61 games, along with 152 hits and 125 shots blocked. Playing nearly thirty minutes a game, Apansson has been the anchor for the team in their own zone, while showing himself more than capable of playing on offense as well. He is similar, in fact, to Jon Snow who tallied 56 points (22 goals!) in 60 games, along with 153 hits and 86 shots blocked. Both teams rely heavily on their number one defensemen to play a hard-nosed, physical style while chipping in offensively. Although Apansson plays harder defense in deep, blocking shots, Snow is more than capable of doing the same - even if he is perhaps more notable for his laser shot.
 
Verdict
 
Looking at these two teams, it's difficult to see why the Lynx have had the Wild's number so consistently. It's not that the Wild are a far and away better team than the Lynx -- rather, the teams are extremely similar up and down their lineups. They both rely on two-way defense, high octane offense, two-way centers to back up their second and fourth lines, along with physical and stay-at-home players deeper in their line-up to keep the score even while their top scorers get a much-needed rest.
 
The Lynx will be looking to Eddie King and Luigi De Rossi to match, and 'show up' the performances of Chet Manley and Bo Boeser in the last game. Meanwhile, the Wild will be hoping to repeat their success in denying high-quality opportunities (and hoping that Manley can continue to deny those that they do surrender), while Clarke, Capitulo and Scheel will all aim to continue their momentum from their last multi-point game against Oslo into this one, so that Boeser doesn't have to do all the work.
 
At this point, a prediction is difficult: on paper, the two teams are matched. In reality, Ottawa has had Saskatoon's number. Both teams have a lot to prove: Saskatoon, that their team is all the stronger after their recent additions, and Ottawa, that their last defeat was little more than a fluke built on the back of a hot goaltender. Either way, this will certainly be an interesting one to watch.

Scheel's Big Game
VHL.com // J.S. Augusta
 
After entering the league with unexpected hype, Jake Scheel went on a tear, scoring over a point per game in his early run. However, as pressure mounted, he entered into something of a dry spell, breaking what had been a lengthy point streak. With the bright lights beaming down on him, and the draft looming ever nearer, some wondered if the young American center simply couldn't take the pressure. With the Wild's 3-0 win against the Oslo Storm, Scheel seems to have silenced those critics. Although breaking out of his scoring slump with a couple points in earlier games, he tallied three points last night, with a plus three, playing nearly thirty minutes on the game. By the end, he was named the second star of the game, behind only Chet Manley who recorded a shut-out.
 
Performances like this will be big for Scheel as draft-day looms closer. Alongside fellow mid-season signee, Daring Do, Scheel has emerged as an offensive threat for the Wild that they desperately needed earlier in the season. At the same time that breaking the scoring slump in such a resounding way will garner positive attention, he will need to put in some serious work to make sure these kinds of slumps don't occur often: as consistent as he's been, a two-way player like him needs to take that a step further. He'll never get by on flash alone. He needs to be contributing night in and night out to give his team the best chance to win whenever he's on the ice.

Player Information

Username: Lunaro
Full Name: Matthieu Bourdon
Position: D
Age: 17
Handedness: L
Recruited By/From: Recreate
Would you like an experienced member to mentor you? no

Player Attributes

Total Points Earned: 36

CK = Checking: 40
FG = Fighting: 40
DI = Discipline: 40
SK = Skating: 46
ST = Strength: 40
PH = Puck Handling: 40
FO = Face Offs: 40
PA = Passing: 50
SC = Scoring: 40
DF = Defense: 60
PS = Penalty Shot: 40
EX = Experience: 40
LD = Leadership: 40

Other
Jersey Number: 6
Height (inches): 6'3
Weight (lbs.): 211
Birthplace: Montreal, Canada

Awards

Career Stats

Player Movement

Past Players
 
 
 
 

This is the Story of Felix Savard
Written by: Frank Chadwick
 
Opening
This is not a very sad story which has no ending so I suggest you save yourself the trouble and stop reading here. For this story is not really a "story" but more a biography of the life of one Felix Savard. As he grows up in the bustling city of Montreal trying to carve out a hockey career. Now when I said this story was sad I didn't mean it would bring tears to your eyes, but rather it's sad that this is a story I have to call "true" but in reality all persons and events in this story are fictitious. 
 
Early Life
Felix Savard was born in Montreal, Quebec north east of the 40 in a rough neighborhood. Savard's father was an iron worker and his mother was a school teacher who had Wednesdays and Sundays off. His father rarely had time off and Felix's mother was left to care for him. Savard was first interested in hockey when he went to a Montreal Canadiens game live for the first time. At that time Saku Koivu was the premiere player for the Canadiens. A player who fought through adversity and overcame obstacles to stay in the NHL. He bought his first pair of skates when he was eight, he had saved up money from birthdays and work as a paper boy. His parents woke up early to take him to practice and stayed up late to watch his games. No hockey player is successful without a good support network. Thus a foundation was built that Savard would be able to catapult into future success. 
 

Felix Savard playing for his high school hockey team. 
 
High School
The moment Felix knew he could make a career out of the sport was when he made his high school team. The Montreal Central were the top team for all 3 seasons Savard manned the blueline. His coach had never seen a player with such poise and calmness in the defensive end of the rink. Scouts from the VHLM came to watch Savard ahead of the Season 54 draft. But we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. I mentioned early this story was sad, then I sort of played it off. I may have lied as Felix's mother passed away when he entered his sophomore year. She would be the inspiration for him leading all players in Quebec high schools with over 3 points per game in his sophomore season. Janet Savard passed away at the age of 47 of brain cancer when Felix was 16 years old. This biography is written in her memory. God rest her soul.
 
QMJHL 
At this point you'd probably call this the climax of the story, which I'd say it is. After Felix's sophomore season he was drafted in the 2nd round by the Quebec Remparts. Felix was considered to be a work in progress despite what he had achieved at the high school level. Though he was considered an all around defenseman, he still lacked an area he excelled at. His coach believed this would stop him from becoming a professional hockey player. Thus Felix decided to focus on his studies, which would lead him to win the Scholastic Award for the Remparts in the 2014-15 season. The award is given to the player who excels both in the classroom and in the community. Felix regularly volunteered at local food banks and homeless shelters. At this time a new team was founded in the VHLM. The Las Vegas Aces. 
 
The Las Vegas Aces
The Aces are currently in their inaugural season, they are a team of the Victory Hockey League Minors. General Manager Robbie Zimmers scouted Felix Savard heavily ahead of the infamous Season 54 draft. A draft in which Vegas owned a majority of the picks. Savard was almost a lock to be drafted by the Aces. A head of the draft Zimmers had this to say about Savard "I've seen him play a few times, I like his skating and general awareness and ability to read plays. I'm not sure if the star upside is there but I see a player who will help us win hockey games, and that's what were about. Savard plays the game hard but we'd like to see him use his big frame more. His shot is probably his most attractive quality as it's the talk ahead of the draft this June. We'll definitely look at taking a defenseman in the first round whether that's Savard remains to be seen." 
Las Vegas would go on to select Felix Savard in the first round of the Season 54 VHLM draft. His father was in tears, Felix dedicated the day to his late mother. He currently wears the number 78 which is her birth year. Some pundits wondered why he wore 78 as a defenseman. Well hopefully that answers your question. Savard is still finishing up his rookie season and has put up respectable numbers thus far, boasting a point per game as a defenseman. Although he is playing for a fairly stacked Las Vegas team so it will be curious to see where he goes in the upcoming Season 55 VHL draft. A mid season mock draft had him going 1st overall, but some scouts aren't seeing the wow factor in his game. They suggest there may be players with higher potential who don't have the same pedigree he has. 
 
Future
Some may call me foolish for writing this biography before the player has even turned 18 but in this players case I believe it was warranted. Also it should be stated that Felix Savard is a player from my agency so I tried to stay as objective as possible. I believe there is many stories still to be told here. As one of the few french Canadian players in the VHLM. We believe he'll project as a top pairing defenseman at the VHL level. He reminds me a lot of my first client Adam Schultz, perhaps not with the same offensive upside. But only the future will tell. 

@MD9
 
For Savard

Saving yourselves for the playoffs to take em down.  

I'm so glad I didn't accept the Las Vegas offer...

Definitely.
 
He's a top 20 goaltender a solid 20 games each season.  

varlamov is top 20 when healthy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
..... jk probably 

@Banackock picking @NUCK to back up @BobertZ?!

U are a lock for first round

Yeah I dont see that happening LOL

Good read! Glad to be considered for the first round. 

Welcome!

What's up people! Glad to be here as late reinforcements and help contend.

Nice to see us get the win!

Wild Reverse Fortunes

Yukon's goal-tending help up even against a wealth of chances by Bo Boeser.
 
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
 
It was a hard fought battle in Saskatoon tonight. After losing three straight games for the first time since their mid-season acquisitions of Daring Do, Jake Scheel, Les Clarke and Ryan Hamilton helped solidify the team’s depth, the Saskatoon Wild overcame the Yukon Rush in a tightly contested, shoot-out victory. It was a solid team effort on the part of the Wild that helped to overcome an exceptional performance by some of Yukon’s top players: namely, Julien Gallant, Apollo Aho and Marty McDouglas. With seven different Saskatoon players registering a point, and none registering more than two, no individual player stands out as having carried the team to victory. Rather, the club continues to show its newfound ability to reply on hard work throughout the ranks.
 
In many ways, it was the kind of game that’s becoming familiar for fans of the Wild this year. Bo Boeser was a constant threat, registering eleven shots on net in the game, with one goal, while Daring Do continued his eleven game point streak by registering his own goal. Carlo Capitulo, another of the Wild’s more dangerous scorers, also lit the lamp once. The trio make up the team’s most frequent scorers, with Boeser having an extremely impressive tally at 44, Capitulo following at 30, and Do having 16 despite only having played 33 games (compared to Capitulo and Boeser’s 50). As always, Ryan Hamilton and Trazan Apansson recorded massive ice-time, clocking in well over 30 minutes to provide the team with a solid anchor from which to lead.
 
Appropriately, it was Les Clarke, one of Saskatoon’s late additions, that scored the shootout winner to give the team the win, after both goaltenders proved tough to beat one on one. After the goal was scored, you could almost see the relief from the Saskatoon bench, as the win helped them stop a potential free-fall in the standings. Although Las Vegas has created a lead that is almost certainly insurmountable at this point, the Wild are fighting hard to claim the number two spot in the league -- and a string of losses, however hard fought they were, could put some serious strain on those efforts. 
 
Jake Scheel was questioned about the win after the game. “It was a hard fought victory,” he told reporters. “We haven’t been capitalizing on our chances the way we usually do, so it was good to get a big two points like this to get our stride back. Obviously, this team has a lot of guys who can put the puck in the net. It hasn’t been coming, but with a win like this, I think it gives us some confidence back. We’re going to take what we’ve learned from our recent losses and move forward. Learn from it, you know?”
 
Although the team may have earned the win, that isn’t to say there aren’t still things that will be highlighted in practice. The Wild struggled noticeably on the powerplay, throwing away all four attempts despite the firepower their offence boasts. A lack of discipline may also find its way into the next morning practice, with a few reckless penalties taken in the third period when the game was still extremely close. Scheel with a hooking minor, Hamilton with unsportsmanlike conduct, and Do with another hooking minor with four minutes left in the game. In any event, the positives outweigh the negatives for the young team.

Scheel Talks Draft
VHL.com // J.S. Augusta
 
With his recent arrival to the VHLM leading to some surprising hype, young two-way center Jake Scheel sat down with VHL.com’s J.S. Augusta to discuss the upcoming draft. Recently, Scheel was ranked #6 among available players, emerging as a late contender to be a possible first round draft pick. Scouted by the league only late due to his solid, but not remarkable two-way play throughout his high school years, he has burst onto the scene on the Saskatoon Wild, with 37 points in 33 games. More impressive, he currently sits at second in the league with 1.24 points per 20 minutes, behind only Rusty Trombone with 1.26. Playing alongside players that are up to his speed appears to have worked wonders for Scheel, as he now appears likely to be able to make the eventual jump to the VHL, after years of doubt that he would even be able to crack the VHLM.
 
Scheel was asked about his position. The full transcript of what was said can be read below:
 
“I’ve been trying to avoid the news, for the most part. I did hear about it, but I don’t know how much weight you can put into a draft ranking this early in the year. There are a lot of guys -- a lot of hard working guys in this draft. Daring Do was listed at #14, but there’s no way she goes that low. She’s putting in just as much, if not more work than anyone else in practice, blowing most of us out of the water with scoring -- she’ll be a first round pick for sure. Hamilton, too… maybe he’s not progressing as fast as Do, but he’s playing like thirty-five minutes a game. There’s no way he doesn’t make the VHL. He’s a monster at cardio.”
 
When asked which team he hoped to go to, Scheel had this to say:
 
“It doesn’t matter to me. As far as I’m concerned, any team that puts faith in me deserves that same trust right back. I’ll play hard for whoever drafts me.”

Scheel Talks Draft
VHL.com // J.S. Augusta
 
With his recent arrival to the VHLM leading to some surprising hype, young two-way center Jake Scheel sat down with VHL.com’s J.S. Augusta to discuss the upcoming draft. Recently, Scheel was ranked #6 among available players, emerging as a late contender to be a possible first round draft pick. Scouted by the league only late due to his solid, but not remarkable two-way play throughout his high school years, he has burst onto the scene on the Saskatoon Wild, with 37 points in 33 games. More impressive, he currently sits at second in the league with 1.24 points per 20 minutes, behind only Rusty Trombone with 1.26. Playing alongside players that are up to his speed appears to have worked wonders for Scheel, as he now appears likely to be able to make the eventual jump to the VHL, after years of doubt that he would even be able to crack the VHLM.
 
Scheel was asked about his position. The full transcript of what was said can be read below:
 
“I’ve been trying to avoid the news, for the most part. I did hear about it, but I don’t know how much weight you can put into a draft ranking this early in the year. There are a lot of guys -- a lot of hard working guys in this draft. Daring Do was listed at #14, but there’s no way she goes that low. She’s putting in just as much, if not more work than anyone else in practice, blowing most of us out of the water with scoring -- she’ll be a first round pick for sure. Hamilton, too… maybe he’s not progressing as fast as Do, but he’s playing like thirty-five minutes a game. There’s no way he doesn’t make the VHL. He’s a monster at cardio.”
 
When asked which team he hoped to go to, Scheel had this to say:
 
“It doesn’t matter to me. As far as I’m concerned, any team that puts faith in me deserves that same trust right back. I’ll play hard for whoever drafts me.”

fuck the draft lottery tbh

Because the lottery is fucked. I didn't like how when they did it they told us that "this team is guaranteed a spot in the top three". Why? Like why are they guaranteed. How many lotteries are actually within the lottery.

How I feel when I talk to certain site members, read it its hilarious! 
 
http://www.boredpanda.com/guy-troll-wrong-number-text-exchange-velakskin/?page_numb=1&utm_source=ZALI&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=SBP

This shouldn't even be a problem. Unhappy players should be traded for the health of the league, and a decent return should be offered even if it's the form of picks or other future assets. It doesn't make sense to hinder the enjoyment of the league for an active even if it sucks to have to do it. 

This shouldn't even be a problem. Unhappy players should be traded for the health of the league, and a decent return should be offered even if it's the form of picks or other future assets. It doesn't make sense to hinder the enjoyment of the league for an active even if it sucks to have to do it.